French Eco-Participation for Online Stores: Display Rules, VAT and PrestaShop Setup

Guide updated October 1, 2026 · By the ModulePilot team · 8 min read

Selling electronics, household appliances or furniture to customers in France? Then the eco-participation is part of your price, whether you like it or not. It's also a topic where online stores often get things wrong: fee forgotten, shown without VAT, reduced by a discount code, not updated when the rates change…

This guide explains what French regulations require, which VAT rate applies, and how to handle the eco-participation properly in a PrestaShop store.

What is the eco-participation?

The eco-participation (also called eco-contribution, and "ecotax" in PrestaShop) is based on extended producer responsibility (EPR, REP in French): whoever places a product on the market pays for managing its waste. Manufacturers, importers and private-label brands pay a contribution to an approved French compliance organization (for example ecosystem or Ecologic for electrical equipment, Ecomaison for furniture), which organizes collection, reuse and recycling.

This amount is then passed down the distribution chain to the end customer. Contrary to a common belief, it is not a tax: the French Ministry for Ecological Transition describes it as a contribution paid by producers (ministerial answer published on December 5, 2023).

Which online stores must display it?

Electronics, appliances and furniture: display is mandatory

Two product streams are subject to a so-called "visible" eco-participation in France:

• household electrical and electronic equipment (article L541-10-20 of the French Environmental Code): smartphones, computers, headphones, household appliances, electric lighting…
• furniture (article L541-10-21): sofas, bedding, tables, storage…

For these products, the unit cost of waste management must be shown in addition to the unit price on invoices, passed on unchanged by every successive seller, with no reduction, and brought to the end customer's attention. For distance selling, the law requires informing them "by any appropriate means", in other words on your website.

This applies even if you're only a reseller: if your supplier charges you an eco-participation, you must pass it on unchanged to your customers. And if you import products or sell under your own brand, you are the producer and must join a compliance organization. If you ship to French consumers from another country, French EPR rules may also treat you as the producer for those products: check your obligations with the relevant French compliance organization.

Toys, sports, DIY, building products: display is optional

Other French EPR streams exist (toys, sports and leisure goods, DIY and garden items, building products and materials…). For these, displaying a visible eco-participation is not mandatory, and the government stated in late 2023 that it did not intend to extend the requirement. You're still free to display it for transparency.

How to display the eco-participation on an online store

The underlying rule is simple: customers must know the amount of the eco-participation and the total price to pay before confirming their order. In practice, there are four touchpoints:

1. On the product page, close to the price, clearly and separately.
2. In the cart, where the customer sees the total including the eco-participation.
3. In the order summary, before payment.
4. On the invoice, as a separate amount.

You'll see two presentations on French e-commerce sites:

• Included in the price: "€155.88 incl. VAT, including €5.88 eco-participation".
• On top of the price: "€150.00 incl. VAT + €5.88 eco-participation", with the total shown in the cart.

Whichever you choose, show VAT-inclusive amounts to consumers: compliance organizations publish their rates excluding VAT, but customers must see what they actually pay. Detailed presentation rules can vary by product stream: if in doubt, your compliance organization can tell you what is expected.

One legal point not to overlook: under EU consumer law, which French law transposes (article L221-6 of the French Consumer Code), an additional charge the customer wasn't informed about before ordering is not payable. An eco-participation that only shows up at checkout or on the invoice exposes you to complaints.

VAT and eco-participation: which rate applies?

The eco-participation is part of the price paid by the customer, so it's included in the taxable amount for VAT (article 267 of the French Tax Code) and follows the same rate as the product it relates to. For electronics and furniture, that's almost always the standard 20% rate.

Example: for headphones with an eco-participation of €4.90 excl. VAT, the customer pays 4.90 × 1.20 = €5.88 incl. VAT.

The classic mistake is displaying the rate-card amount (excl. VAT) as if it included VAT. Either you pay the eco-participation's VAT out of your margin, or your amounts become inconsistent between the product page, the cart and the invoice.

The 5 most common mistakes

1. Forgetting VAT on the eco-participation, or applying a different rate from the product's.
2. Reducing it with a promotion. The amount must be passed on unchanged: make sure your percentage vouchers and cart rules don't apply to the eco-participation. If you want to offer a discount, lower the product price instead.
3. Not following rate changes. Compliance organizations regularly revise their rates, often on January 1. An amount that hasn't changed in three years is probably wrong.
4. Revealing it too late, at checkout or only on the invoice.
5. Mixing it with shipping costs. It would then disappear with free shipping and no longer be identifiable.

For electrical equipment, don't forget the other obligation for online sellers in France: free "1-for-1" take-back. When you sell a new appliance, you must offer to take back the customer's equivalent old appliance for free, at delivery or through a collection solution.

Managing the eco-participation in PrestaShop: 3 options

1. PrestaShop's native ecotax

Enable it under International > Taxes, then enter the amount on each product page (and on each combination if needed). The amount is included in the price, and many themes display an "including ecotax" mention.

It's a good option for a small catalog. Its limits show quickly as your product count grows: product-by-product entry and updates with every new rate card, a single tax rule for all ecotax, theme-dependent display, and invoice calculation discrepancies regularly reported by merchants in some configurations.

2. Build it into the price and mention it in the description

This is a stopgap. The eco-participation doesn't appear in the cart or on the invoice, and every rate change forces you to edit all the prices concerned. For products subject to mandatory display, it isn't enough.

3. An automatic per-product fee module

Our Automatic additional product fees module treats the eco-participation as a fee in its own right, attached to the products concerned:

• One place to manage everything: one fee type per rate-card amount, with its list of products. When the rate changes, you edit one amount and every product follows.
• The right VAT automatically: with the "Use the selected product tax rule" option, the eco-participation gets the product's rate.
• Per item: three armchairs, three eco-participations.
• Customer information at every step: an explanation block on the product page, a separate line in the cart (showing the product concerned), then in the order and on the invoice.
• Nothing gets forgotten: the line is added automatically, follows quantities, and the customer can't remove it.

With this approach, your product prices stay exclusive of the eco-participation: the amount is shown next to the price on the product page, then added as a separate line in the cart, where the customer sees the total before paying.

Step-by-step setup with the module

1. Group your products by eco-participation amount, using your suppliers' invoices or your compliance organization's rate card.
2. Create one fee type per amount under Catalog > Additional fees. Give it a clear name, such as "Eco-participation" (or "Éco-participation" for your French storefront).
3. Write the explanation shown to customers, for example: "Contribution to the collection and recycling of used electrical equipment, paid to the product stream's compliance organization."
4. Enter the tax-excluded amount from the rate card and choose "Use the selected product tax rule".
5. Leave "Apply these fees only once per cart" unticked: the eco-participation is charged per item.
6. Allow stacking under "Cumulative with" if these products also carry another fee (bulky furniture handling, for example).
7. Tick the products concerned in the table, save, then test with two units in the cart.
8. Every year, check the rate cards and adjust the amounts: one edit per fee type is enough.

Compliance checklist

• The eco-participation amount is visible on the product page, near the price.
• It appears in the cart and order summary before payment, with the total to pay.
• It's shown separately on the invoice.
• Amounts shown to consumers include VAT, at the product's rate.
• No discount applies to the eco-participation.
• Amounts match the current rate card from your supplier or compliance organization.
• 1-for-1 take-back is offered for electrical equipment.

Frequently asked questions

Is the eco-participation mandatory for an online store?

For household electrical and electronic equipment and furniture sold in France, yes: it must be passed on unchanged to the customer and brought to their attention, including for online sales. For other product streams, displaying it is optional.

Can you waive the eco-participation for your customers?

Not for electrical equipment and furniture: the amount must be passed on unchanged, with no reduction. If you want to make a gesture, lower the price of the product itself.

Which VAT rate applies to the eco-participation?

The same as the product's: 20% in the vast majority of cases for electronics and furniture.

Where do you find the amount to charge?

On your suppliers' invoices if you're a reseller, or in your compliance organization's rate card if you're the producer.

Must the eco-participation be refunded if the customer withdraws?

Yes. When a customer exercises their right of withdrawal, you must refund all amounts paid for the returned product, eco-participation included.

How do you manage the eco-participation in PrestaShop 8 or 9?

With the native ecotax for a small catalog, or with an automatic fee module if you have many products, several rate cards or other fees to manage. Our comparison of methods for adding fees in PrestaShop details the pros and cons of each option.

This article describes French regulations in force on October 1, 2026, for information purposes only. It does not replace legal or accounting advice tailored to your situation.